


Late

by pipisafoat



Category: In Plain Sight
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-29
Updated: 2011-05-29
Packaged: 2017-10-19 21:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/205217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipisafoat/pseuds/pipisafoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Better late than never, right?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Late

"Better late than never, right?" Marshall muttered to himself, raising a fist to knock on the door in front of him before sighing and shoving his hand back into his pocket. "Come on, man," he told himself, resuming his pacing on the porch.

A voice drifted out through a window he hadn't noticed was open. "You've still got about a minute and a half until midnight," his partner said. "If you're so worried about being late. It's still technically Valentine's Day, though why you feel the need to buy into that capitalistic shit is beyond me."

"Saint Valentine's Day was established in 496 by the pope of the time to honor one or more of several Saints Valentine," Marshall said absently, almost to himself. "It wasn't until Chaucer and the tradition of courtly love that the holiday became associated with romance."

"And now it's midnight," Mary answered.

"Too late to say what I was going to say."

She sighed. "Spit it out."

"It's ... less of a saying thing than that."

"You know the door's unlocked, right? We don't have to have this not-a-saying-thing conversation through a window. I even have heat."

Marshall shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "You can't punch me through a window," he waffled.

"Try me." After a beat, Mary added, "Just come inside, okay?"

"No thanks. I'm alright." He hesitated, then sank to the floor under the window, leaning back against the wall. "You're the best partner I've ever had."

"And friend."

"And friend." He sighed and let his head drop back against the window screen. "And I don't want to mess that up."

"But you love me anyway."

He blinked slowly. "Uh, yeah. Somehow I pictured me saying that, though."

"And me running away from you screaming?"

He grinned despite himself. "After punching me in the face."

Her hand settled against the back of his head on the other side of the screen. "You've given me an obscene amount of time to get used to the idea," she answered.

"Sorry?"

Mary laughed. "Worked out well for you in the end."

"It did?"

"It will."

He turned his head enough to look through the window and saw her sitting facing the window, watching him. "How well will it work out?"

"Come in and find out."

Marshall could practically hear her bedroom eyes. "No, not that. I mean. Um. The end. How does this end?"

"No wonder you haven't dated much, if this is how you start every relationship. Since when am I the optimist?"

He shrugged. "I'm just concerned that we're going from not talking about this, ever, to jumping straight in bed in your head. Did I mention that I don't want to mess up what we have?"

"So we take it slow," she answered, voice more gentle than he expected. "I don't, either."

"Alright." He sat in silence for several minutes, enjoying her fingers slowly stroking his hair through the window screen. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Seeing as it's Tuesday, I imagine I might run into you at the office."

He twisted and glared at her. "I meant _see_ you."

"We can do that, too." Her hand fell away from the screen, and he sighed internally as he stood up.

"Good night, then. Happy Gum Drop Day."

He could hear the eyeroll, too. "Just for that, dinner tomorrow had better be lobster."

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [my smutty valentine](http://mary-marshall.livejournal.com/tag/hiatus%20fun%3A%20my%20smutty%20valentine) challenge at [](http://mary-marshall.livejournal.com/profile)[**mary_marshall**](http://mary-marshall.livejournal.com/)


End file.
